Life
by zuko4ever1477
Summary: He loved her more than he loved anything. More than fire, more than friendship, more than life itself, because that is exactly what she is to him. Life. Katara. Post-war zutara oneshot.


It had been four years now. Four years since his father had fallen. Four years since the Avatar had triumphed. Four years since this confusing, intricate and unforgiving world of politics had fallen heavily on teenaged shoulders.

But he wasn't a teenager anymore. He was a man. Twenty-one, proud and dignified and still loving with the passion of someone who is young.

He loved her more than he loved anything. More than fire, more than friendship, more than life itself, because that is exactly what she is to him. Life. Katara.

It had taken months of dedicated courtship before he had earned the support of her brother and father, before he had earned the right to kneel in front of her and speak those words. They had been married on the second anniversary of Ozai's downfall. It was almost an act of defiance, really. They had married just to show they could find love in a torn world like this one.

Their lives together had been happy, but the weight of the world still hung in the balance. A couple of teenagers putting a hundred years of destruction to right, piece by piece. A jigsaw puzzle that ran beyond politics and deep into the heart of every nation, because they had all been ravaged in its wake.

And now, to top off all the stress and pain of those following years, Katara was sick.

It didn't seem like much, really. She'd been nauseous a lot, and tired far more easily than normal, but that was all. Secretly, though, he was worried. He'd made sure she rested whenever possible and ate plenty- she even seemed to have gained some weight during the illness- but she wasn't getting any better. He couldn't bear to let her go. Not so soon...

"Zuko, it's late. You should be asleep." He turned to see Katara in the doorframe, a tired smile on her face.

"Katara! What are you doing up? You should be resting! You know it's not healthy for you to just-"

She waved his worries away. "Calm down, I'm fine. And you seemed like you could use some company." The Waterbender came to his side and looked out from the balcony with him, her head on his chest. "What's on your mind?" she murmured.

"I'm just... I'm not really sure I'm worthy of being Fire Lord. I've been ruling for four years now, and nothing has gotten better."

"You're certainly doing a better job than the Fire Lord before you," Katara reminded him.

"Am I?" he asked. At first she thought he was joking, but the look in his eyes told her he wasn't.

"Zuko! How could you even ask that? Ozai was cruel, ruthless-"

"At least he did something... I've had four years to make a difference in the world, and nothing!"

"Zuko, you know it's much harder to build something up than bring it down. These things are going to take time. Eventually, though... we'll get where we need to go." How could she be so serene? So confident, almost _cheerful_ in a time of so much loss?

The Firebender looked away. "I'm sorry, Katara. You're right, it's just... I feel like somehow it's my fault. There's been so much destruction. So many lives lost..."

"There's always new life," she reminded him.

"Hardly," he scoffed. "The birth rate in the Fire Nation is down by..."

As he went on, Katara laughed softly. Sometimes the Fire Lord could be as naive as the Avatar had been.

Just as he was about to move on to the comparison of the death rate and the birth rate to further prove his point, something clicked in Zuko's mind and the figures died on his lips. "Wait.... what?" The connection was gone again, and now he was pretty sure this was some inside joke he didn't understand.

"Zuko," she told him gently, a smile on her face, "you're going to be a father."

--

"...Where am I? What's going on? Where's Katara?"

"Calm down, Jerkbender. You passed out after my sister let you know that you'd finally succeeded in making her heavy."

"Don't act so cranky about it, Snoozles, you know you're happy," Toph punched him in the arm, hard, and after a thoroughly unmanly squeal he hurried to assure Zuko that he was in fact very happy indeed.

Feeling like he was in a dream, Zuko left the two to their squabbling and went to the balcony again to look out on the dawn that was now fast-approaching. Katara was already there.

"So..." he began hesitantly. "Really?"

She laughed. "Yes, Zuko. Really."

"And that means... you're not sick?"

"No, Zuko. I'm not sick."

"And that means..."

"And that _means_," she tried again, "that we're going to be parents."

"Oh..." he said faintly. "Wow."

"Yes," she agreed, laughing again. "Wow."

He gave up on trying to wrap his head around the concept and instead wrapped a hand around her waist. "I love you more than anything in the world..." he said softly.

"I love you too. Thank you," she whispered back.

He was confused (that seemed to be happening a lot lately). "For what?"

"For giving me the best life anyone could ever have, and for letting me be with you forever." She smiled at him- he smiled back- and then they met in one passionate kiss.

They were both gasping for breath when it was over. "Thank you," he began, "for letting me love you. And I promise, I will love our son so, so much..."

"Who said it was going to be a boy?" Katara questioned.

"Are you implying that we're going to have a daughter?"

"Maybe I am."

"No, it's definitely a boy."

"Girl."

"Boy."

"Girl."

"Wasn't this going to be my romantic moment?"

"Well you got it wrong. I had to correct you."

"Fine," he grumbled. "I promise I will love our _child_ so, so much. Better?"

"Much." She smiled down at the slight curve of her stomach and Zuko followed her gaze. Was there really a new life in there, just waiting to come out into the world?

He knelt down so that, in his mind, he was eye to eye with his son. "Your mom's going to have to forgive me," he told the baby. "I think you're going to mean as much to me as she does."

Katara smiled. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

**please please PLEASE R&R! i haven't gotten any reviews for my oneshots, and i need to know what people think! thanks for reading!  
**


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